Ledyard farmer pushes statewide food label changes

A Ledyard farmer has recruited powerful government allies in his drive to get Connecticut to become the first state to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

By JAMES MOSHER

The Bulletin

By JAMES MOSHER

Posted Dec. 31, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 31, 2011 at 6:12 AM

By JAMES MOSHER

Posted Dec. 31, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 31, 2011 at 6:12 AM

A Ledyard farmer has recruited powerful government allies in his drive to get Connecticut to become the first state to require labeling of genetically modified foods.

Robert Burns, an organic vegetable farmer who owns Aiki Farms on Shewville Road, spoke during a meeting Friday in Hartford chaired by state Rep. Richard Roy, co-chairman of the General Assembly’s Environment Committee. State Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, one of the committee’s two vice chairmen, also attended.

Burns wants genetically modified fruits and vegetables labeled, including foods shipped into Connecticut. The most important issue is “the public’s right to know,” Burns said.

Ledge Light Health District, a five-town Eastern Connecticut authority that includes Ledyard, has passed a resolution supporting the labeling. Burns is on Ledge Light’s board.

California is considering such labeling, and congressmen from Maine and Vermont are supporting federal legislation known as House Bill 3553. Labeling efforts are being stymied nationally by St. Louis, Mo.-based Monsanto Co., Burns said.

“They’re big, they’re powerful and they come in hard and heavy,” Burns said to the Legislative Office Building gathering of 15 people.

The company doesn’t support labeling largely because of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s position, Monsanto says on its website. Spokesman Nick Weber confirmed the entry is the company’s position.

“The FDA has determined that where genetically modified crops don’t differ from non-GM crops that products containing them don’t have to be labeled,” the website says. “FDA does require the product to be labeled if the ingredient is a potential allergen or somehow changes the nutritional properties of the food. To date, no approved biotech crop is either an allergen or has any significant nutritional differences from non-GM counterparts.”

Roy pledged his full support to an effort, although he doesn’t plan to seek re-election in 2012. He also was critical of Monsanto, saying it has a “hidden agenda.”

Roy, D-Milford, is trying to recruit Republicans to support drafting of a bill, which he expects to occur sometime in the next two weeks. Rep. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, attended the meeting, encouraging supporters to tailor their message as one of helping Connecticut small farmers and encouraging alliances with other New England states.

“This effort might push us to healthier foods,” he said.

Burns’ “right to know” message is the one most likely to resonate with the public, Maynard said.

“Keep it simple,” he said.

Details will be critical to whether the bill passes in the session that begins in February, said Henry Talmage, executive director of the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association. The Windsor-based association supports labeling efforts, but at the federal level, he said.